Review: North Coast Rocketry (by Estes) - SA-14 Archer XL

The NCR Archer was a sport scale kit that resembled the RIM-67A Standard Missile. I really love the styling and this remains one of my favorite rockets.  It is a big 4" kit that was intended to fly on the NCR/Estes F62-4 and G70-5 "Darkstar" motors (the G70 was never released).  These were slightly smaller than standard 29mm motors which meant that, without modification, this rocket couldn't fly on those standard motors.  This review will describe not only the original, but how mine has evolved.

[This is a work in progress.  I need to search for more photos, especially of the early version, and try to recall more construction details.]

Review: Mini V-2

My Mini-V2 (2nd from left) is a semi-scale model based on BT-50 tubing. I was motivated to build this V2 after seeing plans for a BT-20 version that appeared in the January 1989 issue of American SpaceModeling. The Mini-V2 is a simple model and was constructed using "scrap" materials laying around from other projects.

Review: AquaBottleBat

This is a basic 29mm "el cheapo" tube fin rocket inspired by Larry Brand's BottleBat 3.0. Like the original, this one is made from a mailing tube and uses a bottle for the nose cone (an Aquapod, what else?)

Construction:

The parts list:
* 3" mailing tube (~17.625) with liner (~26")
* one Aquapod bottle
* plywood centering rings (2) and bulkhead (1)
* Kevlar® twine and ¼" elastic
* 29mm motor tube
* buttons from railbuttons.com
* small nylon rivets (2) -- Giant Leap
* lead shot
* chute and protector to be selected on the field

I started with the cannibalization of the tube from a scrapped (i.e. dead) rocket, which had a plywood bulkhead attached a few inches from its top. Prior to thinking about a BottleBat, I had found that the bulkhead was positioned perfectly such that when an Aquapod bottle was inserted, that the widest point of the bottle was right at the top of the tube. I decided that I'd form a short payload section from this tube. This method will only work if separation below the nose is desired. It does however, work out nicely due to the unique 'orbastic' shape of the Aquapod bottle.

The next thing was that I found I didn't have enough new 3" mailing tube to cut the six fins and still have a body left. I could buy another...or...I decided that I'd build the fins from the inner telescoping tube. The tubes I like from the Container Store have full-length inner telescoping tubes. I never use all of the latter, so I always have a bunch around. Because of the smaller diameter, six rings of inner tube would not fit perfectly around the section of the outer tube, however, the solution was simple: mount them around a piece of the same sized tubing then slide this assembly into the main body. Instead of gluing this fin can into the main body tube, I used the screw from the lower rail button and two small nylon rivets to hold it together.

In keeping with the original BottleBat, the Kevlar® cord is mounted through the wall of the body tube and this is covered by half of a plastic Christmas ornament that I requisitioned for rocket purposes.

I started running some sims, but as long as I had the bottle modeled using the cap as the nose cone and the exposed body as an ogive transition, I was getting results that I didn't believe. The CP was coming up very close the top of the rocket and appeared to be a bug in RockSim. After all, I keep hearing about how stable tube fin designs are. Later, when I modeled the cone as a simple ogive, the results were more in line with what I expected. Since I always believe in picking the answer that I like, I stuck with the latter. The sim showed I'd need some nose weight to fly on a G reload and the more I thought about he Aquapod sitting on the end of a weighted section, I envisioned some crunching going on. Long story short and two Aquapods later, I decided I'd screw the bottle to the bulkhead and fill it with 2 part foam. After this was complete, I weighed the rocket and found I still needed a little weight. So, I drilled the foam at the tip of the bottle and imbedded about 0.75oz of lead shot in epoxy.

Finishing:
I finished mine in a camo style using Model Master dark tan and medium green. I wasn't sure how this mix would look, but I am extremely satisfied with the results. I painted the cap fluorescent red--I guess this round is "live".

Flight and Recovery:
I use a chute protector and a 36" chute for recovery duties. I also toss in a little dog barf just for good measures. A small F39-4 powered the first flight. This required an adapter that I made form some tubing, pieces of a 29mm SU motor, and a clamp-on aluminum thrust ring. The boost was quick enough although the altitude was fairly low. Recovery was perfect.

The AquaBottlebat has logged four additional flights to date, on a G77-5, and two F35-4's.

Summary:
I liked the BottleBat concept from the first time I saw it, and I love my version. I don't know the actual cost of materials, but the airframe, fins, and cone were all leftovers/scrap. I liked my approach to the fins, as it gives me a away to use up tubing that might otherwise gather dust--I see more tube fins in my future.

Review: MRC - Iron Man

The out-of-production MRC Iron Man Heavy Launch Vehicle is 2" in diameter and 23.5" long. This review is a reverse-engineered description of this vintage kit.  I inherited it from a buddy who moved away so all I did was fix it up.  Mine now has a fixed 24mm mount.

Construction:
The following is a MRC catalog page describing the Iron Man (via Ninfinger). 

This old kit provided a lot of advanced features that often are considered 'modern'.  Starting from the bottom up, the kit included: pre-cut balsa fins, a quick-switch motor mount for 18mm, 18mm + 2 MRC FX, or 24mm flights, 3 plastic outboard 'recruit' boosters (which also accepted FX engines), plastic launch guides for a 1/8" rod, molded body wraps, an ejection baffle, a short Kevlar shock cord, a Nylon 'chute, and a complex molded plastic cone. The FX engines were small diameter, low thrust, long burn motors that were used mostly to generate smoke.

When I inherited the model, there wasn't a motor mount installed.  I missed the 24mm mount that was hiding the box-o-dead-rockets that I inherited from Paul Miller so I added a fixed 24mm mount.  I cut the card stock rings using an Olfa circle cutter and included a small bolt for motor retention.  As the glue was drying, I found the missing 24mm mount (shown to the right).  D'OH!

I also had to repair one cracked fin and replace one of the three recruit outboards, which really was missing.  You can see the unsightly plastic doohickey that I used.  Some day I'll replace it with either another piece of junk or maybe even a tube and some cones.  For now, it is at least flying well.


Along the way, I added a 1/4" lug to allow flights on 3/16" or 1/4" rods. I also found the short Kevlar line coupled with the energetic 24mm ejection charges was causing the nose cone to come off.  On the last flight, the molded hook broke off.  I have now added a long piece of elastic and a Kevlar loop through the cone's base.

Flight/Recovery:
The recommended motors included the C6-3 and D12-5, with or without FX outboards.  I have flown it twice on C11-3's and twice on D12-5's.  Both are good choices and provided nice flights.  I add a thin tape thrust ring and retain the motor with a thin clip (see photo).  The baffle and largish tube make 'chute prep a cinch.  I really like this rocket.  It is prepped for its next flight as I typed the review.

Update 2/16/2011:
I finally decided to get rid of the funny looking plastic doohickey that I used as a replacement strap-on booster.  I had build a replacement, of sorts, using parts from scrap rockets.  However, when I received samples of some BT-5 resin cones and engine bells from I Build Rockets, I built a more respectible version. 

Before and After:

Review: Shrox Industria - SHX-15

Any 'rocket scientist' will immediately recognize the similarity between the SHX-15 and the actual X-15 rocket plane. I assume the new name just absolved Shrox from keeping to scale. This cool rocket flies on 24mm motors, and is made from top-notch materials. (This kit is long OOP. However, Shrox is working with Apogee Components so the SHX-15 may yet return.  Meanwhile, you can but other futuristic Shrox designs from Apogee.)

Review: Hostile Projectiles V-2

This Hostile Projectiles kit is a sport scale BT-60 V-2 that flies on 18mm motors. The main thing that differentiates this kit is the hand-cast resin nose and tail cones. These are not your daddy's resin cones. They are thin walled and not much heavier than solid balsa (if at all). The initial flight reports indicate are that they are also tough. The detail is really makes them stand out. The nose sports hatches, including the rivets. The tail includes preformed fin fairings with slots for the balsa fins and the turbine exhausts.

Review: Model Minutes - XFLR-7

The XFLR-7 was a paper/foamboard kit patterned after the Tintin rocket from the Destination Moon comic. This is a cool design and should be considered a classic. Although the kit is now OOP, existing stock may be around for a while, so I decided to submit a review anyway. I hope that my observations will help in the construction of other paper/foamboard rockets whether they are kits or scratch built.

[This review was written assuming the reader has read the prior EMRR review that appears here. When I re-read this one, it seems quite cryptic. I guess this isn't too important considering the kit is OOP.]

Review: THOY - Snipe

The Snipe, which flies on a cluster of three 24mm motors, is a typical MPR kit. I received the Snipe in 2002 as a prize in EMRR's Fantasy Rocket Photo Contest.  The manufacturer, THOY, has been out of business for many years and is now considered one of the classic HPR/MPR manufacturers. 

Review: Essence Aerospace Technologies - Lambda-Class Shuttle (18mm)

This 18mm version of the Star Wars Lambda-Class Shuttle was produced in limited quantities by Essence Aerospace Technologies (EAT).  EAT was an off-shoot of Essence's Model Rocket Reviews and has been out-of-production for many years.  It was (and is) one of the most innovative rockets around.

NASA in 3D

For those who have and know how to use 3D graphics packages, NASA is offering a bunch of free models.  I forget where I learned of this link and am not sure if these would be useful or only a curiosity.

Review formatting issues (?)

I am posting this to apologize for any formatting snafu's that may crop up in the reviews that I'm importing from EMRR.  Among other things, the "alt =" data from image links are picked up when I'm copying the text. I have tried to weed these out but I'm sure I'll miss some.  I'm also doing some rearranging of the material and updating some of the 'flight' sections. I hope I fix more things than I break!  Anyway, if you see something really funky, please leave a comment.  TIA!

Review: Lindberg 1:48 XFY-1 "Pogo" (PMC)

Convair's XFY-1 "Pogo" was an experimental tail-sitting VTOL aircraft from the 1950s. It actually flew but never made it into production. I had a model of it as a little kid and always liked its unique look. I recently found they are once again available. I got mine from Historic Aviation but have since seen that my local hobby shop has them.

This airplane is an obvious subject for PMC since it is largely 4FNC. The main challenge is the model's weight (including the requisite added nose weight).

Review: Hostile Projectiles Delta X-15

This is sport scale model of an X-15 variant proposed by North American Aviation. More accurately, it is fantasy scale since this stretched, delta-winged version was never produced. Like the other offerings from Hostile Projectiles, this kit features a hand crafted resin nose cone. It flies on 24mm power.

Reviews: Recycled daiquiri glasses from Las Vegas

If you've ever been to Las Vegas, you couldn't have missed that about a quarter of the people wandering the Strip seem to be sipping on long plastic doohickeys filled with colored liquids. These jumbo, spiked versions of the Slurpee are themed to various casinos and venues.  I'm always looking for rocket parts, and couldn't pass up glasses from the Stratosphere Hotel, Casino and Tower and the Paris Hotel and Casino.  One was acquired in around 2000 and one in 2008.  This post describes the rockets that they became.

Review: The Whole Enchilada

The Whole Enchilada

"The rocket that is the meal!"

The idea for The Whole Enchilada came into being one Sunday afternoon while cleaning out the frig. We had leftover tortillas that had been in the freezer way too long. Then the idea to use the stale tortillas hit me.....

Review: Quest MLAS

This is semi-scale sport model based on NASA's Max Launch Abort System (MLAS). It is quite stubby, being 3.5" in diameter and a mere 9" long. It has only one recommended motor, the B6, and recovers in two parts on three parachutes.

CATO!

Here's a cool photo of India's GSAT-5P CATO. Via, of all places, io9.

NORAD Santa tracking reminder

No time for a more substantial post, but I thought I'd at least post this Santa tracking reminder.

Merry Christmas!

Review: Deuce XL5

The Deuce XL5 was my Descon-13 entry and, for the record, the following were the attributes as they applied to the contest:

no Micro-Maxx, x2 cluster, sci-fi, comedy(?), most parts from a Fliskits Deuces Wild

The Deuce-XL5 is a kitbash of the Fliskits Deuce's Wild. After building a stock kit and seeing a flurry of interesting kitbashes on The Rocketry Forum, I decided I'd bash one and began thinking of themes. Fireball XL5 was the title and subject of a TV series by one Gerry Anderson. It was produced in 'Supermarionation', similar to the Thunderbirds series. This show has a reasonably large presence on the web and several flying models have been made over the years (with mixed success). I myself had built and flown 29mm and MMX versions of the Fireball XL5, and I soon gravitated to the Deuce XL5 concept.

Review: Goonball XL5

This 'goony' version of the Fireball XL5 sci-fi spacecraft is based on the Estes SpaceShipOne kit. That rocket is now my favorite kits to bash.

It's cold so you probably could use some Canned Heat for Christmas

As a big Canned Heat fan, I couldn't resist sharing this one. (with a hat tip to Jack Kennedy)

Review: Upscale BLU-97B Cluster Bomb

This is a description of my G-powered upscale of the Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb. The body consists of two 5" Quaker Oats bins. Here it is next to it's Estes cousin.

Construction:
The nose cone tip was turned from 2" pink Styrofoam using a hand drill clamped in a vise. I first cut circles top and bottom with my Rotozip, and because the cuts didn't reach through the foam, finished up with a hand saw. A metal bolt epoxied into the core provided a sturdy attachment point for the drill. This worked better than a wooded dowel and I knew I'd need to add nose weight anyway. To extend the cone slightly, I cut a 3/4" circle from the bottom an oat bin. I glued this to the bottom of the cone. At this point, I coated the cone (without the plastic insert) with a layer of West epoxy. The 'nipple' portion of a cone is a plastic cap from something-or-another.

The shoulder is another foam disc encircled with a piece of an oat bin. I did not glue these sections together until I completed the rest of the rocket and determined how much nose weight was required. The required weight was determined by adjusting the CG of the completed rocket, including the motor and chute, based on the Rocksim model. The weight was provided by a long eye-bolt and several nuts. This eye-bolt is slightly off-center, and extends through the shoulder section and into the top of the nose. The two halves were epoxied together and the center hole was filled with some epoxy, some lead shot (just for insurance), and more epoxy.

The motor mount is a piece of Giant leap 29mm phenolic that extends from the top of the oat bin to 4" below the bottom. There are two thin plywood bulkheads in the bin, one near the top and one resting against the bottom lip of the bin (inset about 3/8" from the bottom). An 8' length of 1/4" Kevlar® is attached through the top ring.

I built the through-the-wall fins from foam board and framed them with wood dowels. I wanted to keep the bottom light, and there will be plenty of room for a BIG chute. Having the fins extend below the end of the motor tube allowed me to clamp them together in pairs with a plastic ruler, which helped with their alignment.

The rear is a 29mm x 2.5" centering ring and has a T-Nut to accommodate a motor clip. I added some pieces of foam board to fill the void in the rear of the body tube (remember the lower ring is offset into the tube a bit) and to extend past the end by 1/4". These pieces of foam board were beveled to provide support for the tail cone sections. I also ran strips of foam board along the line where the tail cone sections will meet the fins, forming a narrow shelf. The tail cone sections themselves are 1/64' plywood attached with Perfect Glue, Type 2 (similar to CA).

To connect the two sections of 'body tube', I made a tube coupler from another oat bin. This was split length-wise, a section removed, and the ends were glued back together to from a coupler tube. Since the oat bins are not very strong, I treated the inside of the top edge with CA, and built a makeshift anti-zipper device from small-cell bubble wrap and cloth tape. This was attached to the Kevlar® cord where it would hit the tube at deployment.

One fin buckled slightly after the first launch (see flight section) so I reinforced the fin joints with carbon fiber tape. A yard of this stuff cost more than the rest of the rocket, but on a whim, I decided to try it. On good thing about this tape is that the lengthwise edges are woven closed so they will not unravel.

Finishing:
The rocket was painted with Testor's flat olive drab and the tip was painted silver. I made upscale decals (actually stickers) from Avery full-page label stock. This material is not as nice a real decals, but I over-ran my budget with the carbon tape.

Flight/Recovery:
The 5" body tube provides plenty of room for a big 'chute so the foam board fins have survived reasonably well. On the third flight, the BLU-97B went off target and terrorized a flock of ducks. The unit was removed from the pond and had to be re-conditioned. I was amazed that it survived.  It had flown well on the following motors:

AT RMS G64-4, AT RMS G64-6, AT RMS G71-5, AT SU G80-4, AT SU G80-7, RoadRunner SU F60-4


Summary:
I like the unique look of the cluster bomb, I love short fat rockets, and I enjoy making rockets out of junk, so what's not to like about this upscale? The main downside is the foam board fins. Plywood would have been stronger but it would also have been heavier, although maybe not after I had to add reinforcement.

Review: Fireball XL5 Paper Model

This is a paper model of the Fireball XL5 that I converted to fly on MicroMaxx motors.  Unfortunately, the link to the plans is dead.

Review: Fireball XL5

This is a fantasy-scale model of the Fireball XL5 spacecraft, which was the subject of an old TV show. My motivation came from a thread on the The Rocketry Forum. Inspired by a model being developed by Steve Rogers, I began thinking about the pile of parts that I got from LOC as my DESCON 9 prize and decided to give it a shot. I made several minor adjustments to the scale factor to fit the parts I had on hand, but the overall look is correct.

Review: CrayShipOne

This Crayon bank rocket was obviously motivated by the SpaceShipOne, but is not anywhere close to scale. It is also my EMRR MonsterROC contest entry and flies on 38mm H motors.

Winter solstice lunar eclipse of 2010

This eclipse was notable because it took place just hours before the December solstice, which marks the beginning of northern winter and southern summer. The last Dec. 21 total lunar eclipse occurred in the year 1638. The next winter solstice eclipse is due in 2094.  Learn more on Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log.

Here's my feeble attempt at astro-photography. I had a hard time getting focused pictures even on a tripod and, man, was it nippy out!

I included this photo because it look more like what the naked eyeball saw than the more zoomed photos. This was taken at 2:52 EST, shortly after totality. It is still lighter on one side, but is totally in the Earth's shadow.

This was taken prior to midnight on 12/20/2010.

Taken at 1:57 EST on 12/21/2010. I just noticed there are lots of 1's and 2's in this date.

Taken at 2:20 EST

Taken at 2:22 EST

Taken at 2:34 EST. The photo doesn't show how bright the remaining sliver looked like.

This was taken at 2:50 EST shortly after totality. The full eclipse was supposed to begin at 2:41 EST. I guess the exact time varied depending on where in the time zone you were. There's more refraction on the trailing edge, but we weren't staying up for the center of the full eclipse!

Review - Art Applewhite 18", 38mm and 54mm Delta Flying Saucer

This is a review of a pre-production version of Art Applewhite's 18", 38mm and 54mm Delta Flying Saucer.  Its construction varied somewhat from the production model. Nonetheless, it is representative of the performance you should expect. I have tried to indicate where the production model varies, however, these notes may not be all-inclusive.

Apollo 11 - almost lost due to software errors, saved by a ten year old

Thanks to several movies, including Ron Howard's hit of the same name, the general public is well aware of Apollo 13's story.  The short version: rocket launches, capsule heads to moon, oxygen yank ruptures, astronauts get really cold and move to command module, ground crew devises a jury rigged CO₂ scrubber, astronauts breathe a little easier, capsule returns, everyone cheers, movies are made.  However, if you study NASA's history closer you will find that many other missions had hiccups that could have been disastrous.  The latest issue of Apogee's Peak of Flight Newsletter (#276) has an interesting recap of the problems encountered during Apollo 11. The byline is, "A lot more than you've been told."  I quickly glanced at the Wikipedia entry for Apollo 11 and some of said problems are discussed.  Still, Bart Hennin's article in the newsletter is an interesting read.

Comparison of Art Applewhite's 24mm Saucers

Now that I have captured some of my old reviews, I decided to see if Blogger could handle the table used in the original comparison article. The first row includes links to the posts that present the full review. I'll link to the Super Cinco if and when I port it over.

Mega-Review: Art Applewhite Delta Flying Saucers

At the time of this posting, Art Applewhite is offering no less than 10 versions of his Delta Saucer design, two of which are free downloads.  This is a cluster of reviews covering three of them:  13mm Delta, 24mm Delta, and the 24mm Ultra Delta.  I also have the big 38mm/54mm Delta but I will add the write-up separately.  Although it is shaped the same, its construction is far different from the smaller ones.

(Space) budgets are made to be broken

In this week's Space Review, Todd Neff discusses one fundamental flaw in estimating cutting edge projects -  Space budgets are made to be broken.

 On the final frontier, humans will always be learning to walk.

This subject seems to come up every so often around the dinner table and I make the same basic point. Not as eloquently and with fewer facts, but basically the same - it's hard to estimate the cost of stuff that's never been done before. I should study this article enhance my discussion of the subject.

Some of the other semi-related observations that I've made through the years:

• Once typical contract scenario is: The government writes an RFP with their requirements; the contractors get a few months to evaluate the requirements, develop a design to address them, and provide a firm cost; contractor X wins and begins development; the development life cycle includes a year or more of detailed requirements and firming up the design.  Then to everyone's surprise, the final design (representing years of work) doesn't look exactly like the one in the proposal (that was done in months). [Time frames made up to make the point, insert your estimates where appropriate.]
• The government's job is partially to squeeze the contractors to get the best price, often based on what they though it should cost (before the RFP was even out).
• The contractor's job is to adjust their bid so that it both wins (cost is often the deciding factor) and allows them to make money.
• Both parties have their tricks to do their job.  
• Even with a big, not-so-cutting-edge system, there is a lot of wiggle room to adjust your estimates.
• Software productivity numbers come to mind, but maybe that's because I was more of a hardware guy.

Review - The Grand Whazoo

The goal of this project was to build an eight inch diameter rocket that was light enough to be flown on a mid-power motor. I decided to use foam board for the fins and centering rings, and thick paper for the outer skin. After playing around with RockSim, the design evolved into something reminiscent of a V2 (although not even semi-scale), with the following specs:

• 70" x 8", 3lb 3oz loaded (barely under the 3.3lb limit!)
• motor: G80-4 (manufacturer's recommended max weight is 52oz)
• predicted alt: 600' (highly optimistic)

This review will cover both the original and re-built versions.

Review - North Coast Rocketry Big Brute

This is a review of the pre-Estes version of the classic stubby mid-power rocket. It included a standard 29mm motor tube and flush-mount plywood fins.

Parts list:

* NC-39 (Ace) nose cone
* BT-39/17 airframe tube
* SC-2 shock cord (elastic)
* PC-2 parachute (24" rip stop nylon)
* MT-1 motor tube
* CR-39-11 plywood centering rings (2)
* TR-11 thrust ring
* LL-1 launch lug
* GOR-2 Gorilla shock cord mount (36" steel)
* SC-2NC nose cone cord (thin nylon rope)
* plywood fins (4)
* decal sheet

The instructions were quite good and included drawings. The assembly was pretty basic, being a simple 4FNC rocket. Epoxy was used throughout. Since the fins were flush mount, small holes were made in the airframe along the fin lines to form epoxy rivets. The kit included a thrust ring, which I used. In retrospect this should have been left off. I later added T-nuts for motor retention. The Gorilla shock cord mount is a steel cable that loops through a hole in the forward centering ring. This is very sturdy and makes replacement of the shock cord very easy in such a short rocket.

Finishing:
The kit included self-adhesive decals. These weren't very good quality and the clear portion never looked too clear. I initially painted mine dark red and added checkerboard and chrome accent strips. One one windy day, it was dragged through a freshly plowed field, which removed both paint and stickers. I stripped the remaining stickers and repainted it fluorescent orange and flat black..


  


Flight/Recovery

The recommended motors included everything from the F20-4 to the G80-10. I have flown mine on  a wide variety of motors:

AT EconoJet F20-4, AT EconoJet F23-4, AT EconoJet G35-7, AT EconoJet G38-4, AT RMS G64-5, AT RMS G64-6, AT RMS G64-7, AT RMS G77-6, AT RMS G79-6, AT SU F25-6, AT SU F50-4, AT SU G80-10, AT SU G80-7, Ellis SU G35-6

The stock kit had a tendency to weathercock quite a bit (a 6 foot rod was recommended). As a result, I added a bit of nose weight and some rail buttons. It is now arrow straight and you really can't notice any degradation in performance. As I said, I have retrofitted the kit for positive motor retention. I also use a parachute protector (Nomex or car air bag) in place of wadding.

The shock cord is tied to the Gorilla mount and to a loop of rope which is in turn tied to the nose cone. The 24" parachute is too small for the flush mounted fins. Despite the epoxy rivets and generous epoxy fillets, it tends to strip fins (mine tries to find a rock, paved walkway, or whatever). I now use a 36" -  42" parachute.

Final update:  The Big Brute's final flight was on 6/18/2011 at MDRA's ESL-157.  It flew on an AeroTech G138-6.  The boost was really quick but, unfortunately, there was no ejection event.  It tore through a tree before encountering terra firma.  RIP.

Review: Too Rolling (Red)Stoned

The Too Rolling (Red)Stoned is is a semi-scale version of a Mercury Redstone. It is a large, light rocket that is built using card stock and foam board and is basically a 4” rocket in an 8” rocket’s skin. This review will emphasize the general build techniques rather than providing a detailed set of steps, exact dimensions, etc. I doubt if anyone would try to copy the details of this build, but the general approach might prove interesting if you are going to build something similar. Nor not, but I wrote it down anyway. Several people have stated that 29mm power is way to small for this sized rocket, and that is the point of the build. This build is too big to fly on a G80, but it should be safe (albeit low and slow) on an H165.  The name was inspired by the classic Robin Trower album, "Bridge of Sighs"

Review - Great Googly Moogly

The Great Googly Moogly is a 8" x 75" scratch built rocket that I used for my TRA Level 2 certification at LDRS 19 in Orangeburg, SC. However, I began building it almost a year earlier, before even getting my Level-1 cert. Many of the building techniques used were new to me, and a few were unconventional. However, the results have been satisfying.

Review - Public Enemy Ultra Fayboy (3")

The Public Enemy 3" Ultra Fatboy was my first high power rocket and was purchased for my TRA Level-I certification. I picked this kit primarily because of its sleek design and capability to fly on mid-power motors (adapter not included). There are quite a few rockets fitting the latter requirement so looks were the major factor. This kit turned out to be easy to build and extremely tough.  Unfortunately, Public Enemy is currently out of business.

Reviews of two V2's

Semroc's V2 xKit is a reproduction of Estes K-22, which was originally released in 1965. Like the original, it flies on 18mm motors and features balsa nose and tail cones. The xKits don't come with instructions but, since they are classics, copies of the original instructions are available on-line. This was my favorite rocket as a kid, and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple.  The kit comes with two sets on laser cut fins. Once set is over sized for increased stability and one is true to scale.  I have reviewed both versions below.

Zeitgeist/attitude adjustment

Lets see, my flood of product reviews has helped boost the ratio of on- to off topic items in my top-ten posts to 8-to-2 (see sidebar, this ratio is subject to immediate change).  My original NSFW fembots post is still number one and a bacon post is still in there.  Also, I'm tired of formatting old reviews and depressed about my launch pospects in the coming months.  So, it must be time for some rocket girls (at least mostly rocket girls).  Click the photos to see other work by the respective photographers.